1. Field of the Invention
Certain embodiments of the present invention relate generally to circuits configured to control amplifiers. Certain other embodiments of the present invention relate generally to methods for controlling amplifiers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wide-Band Received Signal Strength Indicator (WRSSI) circuits are commonly used in electronic systems that include mixers and amplifiers such as, for example, automatic-gain controlled amplifiers (ACG). In such systems, the WRSSI circuits control the gain of one or more of the amplifiers that are outside of the WRSSI circuit.
Commonly-used WRSSI circuits generally receive signals from an outside amplifier after the signals have passed through at least two mixers. For example, amplifier signals may be received by a WRSSI circuit from an I mixer and a Q mixer, whose outputs are 90° out-of-phase with each other. Common WRSSI circuits then process these signals independently through separate paths. Hence, since providing multiple paths requires the inclusion of redundant components, commonly-used WRSSI circuits are relatively large, require a considerable amount of power for operation, and are relatively difficult to cool. Further, currently-available WRSSI circuits are typically highly sensitive to variations in temperature, process, and power supply voltage.